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Now he's fired up an ad that includes a map of metro Denver with the four Hapa Sushi locations marked in red -- and 59 local medical marijuana dispensaries marked in blue. "We're just kind of saying, 'Look, these dispensaries exist and they're becoming part of our community, so let's welcome them in and have some fun,'" Van Grack told the New York Times for a story published today. "If you're going to smoke pot, you're going to get the munchies, so come to Hapa to eat."

The ad, created by TDA Advertising and Design of Boulder, is just the latest in a long line of Hapa hijinks.

Back in 2007, when Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's home-run record, Hapa ran an ad congratulating Aaron, with the fine print below noting that the restaurant had "organic beef and chicken, no added steroids."

But often, food makes no appearance in Hapa's campaigns. "Most restaurants show food, but then you're just one of a hundred," Van Grack told the Times. "We think that our clientele appreciates smart ads that grab their attention. By creating ads that people want to talk about, that are creative and maybe controversial, then at least they are talking about our ads and Hapa is top of mind."

Patricia Calhoun co-founded Westword in 1977; she’s been the editor ever since. She’s a regular on the weekly CPT12 roundtable Colorado Inside Out, played a real journalist in John Sayles’s Silver City, once interviewed President Bill Clinton while wearing flip-flops, and has been honored with numerous national awards for her columns and feature-writing.